Last night I went to what I told my roommate was a surprise party for my Pastor, Mark Dever’s 15th anniversary of being associate pastor at Capitol Hill Baptist Church. What I saw was something much greater, which was a tribute to him and more importantly God and the work he is doing through Mark Dever and the Capitol Hill Baptist Church.
Those who follow Evangelical Christian leaders today know who Mark Dever is. He is known as the expert on the Church in many Christian circles today, creator of the IX Marks which describe 9 things a church must have to be a healthy, Biblical Church. Of course, the number 9 is clearly arbitrary, and Pastor Mark would tell you that himself. If you really want to narrow the 9 Marks down to 1 essential point, it is this: Preach the Word. Really, through a proper handling of the Word of God, all of the other necessary callings of the church take care of themselves.
Funny thing is that when I walked into CHBC just over two years ago, I had no idea who Mark Dever was. I had no idea what CHBC is. I went to CHBC on recommendation of Ken Spink, the Pastor of Berea Baptist Church who had been to CHBC once and was impressed and since I told him I was Southern Baptist it was a natural fit. I always imagined that meeting a celebrity pastor (Mark would cringe at this term, but it works because of his popularity) would be like meeting a star athlete or a prominent politician. In fact, had a known that Mark Dever was a “celebrity pastor” before I met him, I would have wanted nothing to do with him or his church, because I seek a pastor who was a faithful teacher of the word of God and can care for his flock, not someone who is concerned with Guest appearances on Larry King Live and his chief concern being penning his next Christian Best Seller, which was my impression of celebrity pastors.
Please don’t get me wrong, I don’t think ill of the stereotype celebrity pastor I speak of. I think they are good if focused on the word, for the Kingdom. I just think the chief role of a pastor is to preach the word of God, and a celebrity pastor just seemed like someone who did that because it was part of the job in order to have street cred, but really a Celebrity pastor was really more of an author, or broadcaster at heart. I was seeking someone like my pastor at my last church Pastor Cliff Houston, a great man who is the Sheppard of a flock of less than 100 sheep in the spiritual deprived Pittsford, NY, a suburb of Rochester. This man puts years of labor in planting seeds and it is easy to get discouraged as the results are not immanently evident.
Well, like Cliff Houston, Mark Dever is a pastor. He may be a celebrity outside CHBC, but his chief role is to Sheppard his flock by devoting the core of his time to preaching the word of God. When I met Mark Dever, I had no clue he was a celebrity pastor. He surly don’t come off as one. His humility is something to be looked up to big time. When asked why it was important to be involved in a local church, Mark said that “He don’t trust himself outside of it.” Mark Dever puts himself on no pedestal, he is a sinner who relies on the church just like the rest of us.
The celebration last night was not only for Mark Dever as a pastor, but for Mark Dever as a mentor. I must say it was quite moving. Still, I chiefly know him as a pastor and he is a model one for sure. Brad Paisley in his song “Celebrity” says, “When you’re a Celebrity, it’s adios reality.” Well, Mark Dever is a celebrity, but what makes his great is that he is Hola reality. He is a faithful sinner looking to preach God’s Holy Word as faithful as he can on a week to week basis. Thank You Mark Dever.
